Take away my anxieties
by dog-tooth
Summary: When Stu's sister recieves a call off the man who ruined Stu's life she just knows that things are going to go wrong. What happens when the caller tries to see if Stu really has changed for the better?
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Emily

Emily walked down the street, her brown hair blowing wildly around her because of the strong wind. She was meant to be at school but her brother had asked to see her and she couldn't say no. Especially not after how bad he'd been lately.

She was wearing a pair of dark blue skinny jeans and a black band shirt which she was feeling slightly uncertain about. For some reason she felt as if she should have dressed up a bit more.

As she reached the end of the street she realised that through the noise of the wind screaming through the air she could hear the sound of a phone ringing. The street was empty so she knew that it wasn't anybody's mobile.

She looked around, trying to find the source of the noise, until her eyes eventually rested on a phone booth, a few metres away from her.

Something flashed in her memory of a day two years ago but she ignored it. She couldn't let herself be drawn in by irrational fears.

She walked over to the phone booth, the door closing behind her, and picked up the phone.

"Hello?" she asked.

"Hello," the voice replied, a hint of amusement in the man's voice.

"Erm...Are you calling for someone in particular?" Emily asked, fiddling with the phone cord.

"Why do you say that?"

"Well, this is a phone booth."

"I am calling for someone in particular, yes."

"And who would that be?"

"You."

Emily laughed. "Who are you exactly? I wasn't expecting a call."

"It doesn't matter who I am. It only matters who you are Emily."

She paused, not knowing what to say. "How do you know my name?"

"Oh I know lots of things about you. I know that you're seventeen years old. I know that you and your parents don't get on. I know that you ride your bike to school everyday. I also know that you're bunking off school today so that you can meet up with your brother."

"How the hell do you know that?" Emily was scared now. How did this man know this about her? Something about this seemed familiar.

"I told you Emily. I know a lot about you. I know a lot about your brother as well."

"Okay then. What's his name?"

"That's easy. His name is Stu."

He knew too much. How did he know so much? "Okay, I'm hanging up now."

"It wouldn't be in your best interest to disconnect me Emily. Oh wait, would you prefer Ems?"

"Oh god. What do you want?"

"I just want a conversation with someone. Is that so wrong?"  
"Why do you want a conversation with me? You could talk to anyone else."

"You don't recognise my voice do you? Wait, but then again why would you? I only talked to your brother."

"M-my brother? What do you mean you've only talked to my brother?"

"Stu and I had a great conversation a few years ago. I'm sure he told you about it. It didn't end well. I'm hoping this conversation will be different."

"No," Emily muttered, shaking her head back and forth. "You're meant to be dead."

He laughed down the phone. "Don't act so surprised Emily. I know that Stu told you that I wasn't dead. You are his sister after all."

"What do you really want? It's obviously not just a conversation that you're after."

"I'll be honest with you Emily. There is something that I want. However I don't want to spoil the surprise for you. I want you to work it out yourself."

"How am I meant to work it out? You're a fucking psycho. Do you know how fucked up my brother became after he spoke to you."  
"Oh but we your brother and I weren't just speaking were we?"

Through the phone Emily heard the distinct sound of a gun being cocked.

Emily covered her mouth to try and cover up the sob that escaped from her.

"Now doesn't that just torque your jaw? I love that. You know, just like in the movies, when the good guy is about to kill the bad guy, he cocks his gun. Now, why didn't he have it cocked? Because, that sound is scary. It's cool, isn't it?"

"Not really," Emily replied shakily.

He laughed. "You're boring Emily. Are you scared?"

"Of course I'm scared."

"I don't think you're scared enough. I have a highly magnified telescopic image of you. Now, what kind of device has a telescopic sight mounted on it? A 30 calibre bolt-action 700, with a carbon one modification and a state-of-the-art hands-hold tactical scope. And it's staring straight at you."

She looked around wildly, her eyes looking up at all the windows surrounding her.

"You won't be able to find me Emily, too many windows." He paused but continued when she didn't say anything. "Stu was more scared then you are. He was practically begging for his life after I told him that I had a gun."

"That doesn't sound like Stu."

"Doesn't it? Well, it seems like you don't know your brother as well as I do."

Emily ignored this. "Is this why you want to talk to me? Because of my brother, Stu?"  
"That's part of the reason. You see I was intrigued. I got to know everything about Stu's life. His life, his girlfriend, his wife. But the one thing I never really knew about Stu was what his family was like. So that's what I've done for the past two years. I've found out as much as I can about you, your mother and your father."

"But why are you still so interested in Stu? He's changed now."

"Oh I've seen the way he's changed and I'm not sure I like it."

"What do you mean? You said that the whole reason you did it was to make him more honest and he is. He's so different now."

"I wanted him to be honest, sure, but I didn't want him to throw his life away. I gave him the opportunity to change his life, to better himself, and what does he do instead? Fucks everything up."

"Kelly left him though. It wasn't his fault.

"Oh Emily. You're so naive. Of course it's his fault. We all have a choice about what we do and it just so happens that Stu made the wrong choice."

"What're you going to do then?" Emily asked in a still shaking voice.

"I'm going to have a word with Stu. You have his number right?"

"Of course."

"Okay. Get out his number and call him."

"Wait, don't do this. Stu's messed up enough as it is. If you talk to him then it's just gonna make him worse."

The caller laughed. "I really don't think you should be telling me what to do. Now, get your mobile phone out and dial Stu's number. Make sure that it's on loudspeaker."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Stu

_Isn't it funny? You hear a phone ring and it could be anybody. But a ringing phone has to be answered, doesn't it?_

Stu woke up with a gasp, sweat dripping down his face.

"Fuck," he muttered into his hands.

He'd had that nightmare again. The one that he'd had every night for the past few months, ever since that damn phone call.

It always started the same. He'd be in the centre of a room, with Pam and Kelly on either side. In his hand he'd be holding a telephone.

The telephone would ring, over and over. He'd ignore it at first but it would get louder and louder, until eventually he'd have no choice but to answer it. Then he'd wish he'd never answered the phone.

"Hello Stu," that oh so familiar voice would say, a hint of amusement in his voice.

Stu had never been given the opportunity to say anything back to the man in his dream, but he knew what he would say. "Fuck off you bastard." He could even imagine the reply that he would get. "Stu, that kind of language is uncalled for."

However the dream never went like that. Instead the caller would start laughing into the phone, making Stu's anger flare up. Then he'd say the words that had always haunted Stu, not just in his dreams but throughout his life since as well. "Kelly or Pam. You choose." Stu would look from left to right, almost as if debating but it was always useless. Two shots would echo through the room, and Pam and Kelly would drop to the floor, dead. Then he'd wake up, usually shivering and drenched in sweat.

You'd think that it would be the image of Kelly's and Pam's dead bodies that would scare him the most but it wasn't. It was the words that the caller would say. "Kelly or Pam. You choose."

Simple words really. Simple words that would never haunt anyone else throughout their lifetime, only Stu, but just hearing the names of the two girls whom he'd loved made him want to punch something in anger. The words "you choose" scared him as well. What kind of idiot would give him, of all people, a choice?

He'd realised, whilst in that phone booth, that he didn't love Pam. If it had been love that he'd felt towards her, then it was minor, significant even, compared to the love that he felt for Kelly. He loved her more then life itself, and it took this man to show him that. However it also took this man to reveal to Kelly that Stu was a bad man that she could do without. Just because he'd made a public apology for everything, didn't make what he'd done any easier for her to understand. He'd been a bad man and Kelly couldn't cope with that.

Sure, she tried her hardest to make it work. At first she loved him more then she ever had before, but after a while Kelly couldn't cope anymore. It wasn't just the bad things that he'd done previously that scared her shitless (which were the words of Kelly herself) but the new man that he'd become.

Sometimes Stu struggled to understand this. Sure, the man he was now was incredibly different from the man he'd been before, but he didn't think that it was an altogether bad change. Before he'd been greedy and selfish, now he was more reasonable and altruistic. Well, maybe not as reasonable as most people always were, but enough for it to have made an incredible difference on the way he lived his life. She'd told him that it wasn't this that made her not love him anymore.

She said that it was the nightmares that he had and the nights when he'd wake up screaming and crying.

She said it was the fact that he now took medication for the constant anxiety attacks that had become an unwilling part of his life.

She said that what had happened on that day had mentally scarred her and she couldn't look at him the same anymore.

She said that she didn't feel the same about him.

She said that she couldn't take it anymore!

What about him? What about the fact that everyday he had to look at the man in the mirror and realise what a failure he'd become.

Sometimes he'd blame himself for what happened and sometimes he'd blame the man who'd called him and changed his world. Either way, he knew that he'd never be the same again. For better or worse, he didn't know.

Stu sighed as he reached over to the table next to his bed and picked up a small bottle of tablets. Pouring two of them from the bottle, he walked over to the bathroom and swallowed the small pills down with a glass of water.

Now that he was standing in front of the sink, he had no choice but to stare at his reflection in the mirror.

His brown hair was now shrivelled and long, compared to how neat it had been before. He hadn't shaved for over a month now, meaning his lips were barely visible against the darkness and heaviness of his beard. The eyes were what scared him most. His brown eyes never looked as warm as they once had. When he looked at them, he could see something that scared him senseless. What it was he didn't know.

You wouldn't have expected a man like Stu to have been changed so much by the experience. He'd been the kind of man who thought he had it all. Money, a wife, a mistress, power. What more could a man have asked for? A lot, that's what. His life **hadn't** been perfect, not at all, and the caller had pointed out these flaws.

Then again, it was partially his fault. Of course he wasn't willing to take **all** the blame but he knew now that he shouldn't have done what he did. It was wrong. It was even more wrong because Kelly had left him because of it.

'Fuck my life' he thought as he slowly started to walk around and get dressed. Usually he'd stay at home in a t-shirt and pair of tracksuit bottoms but today he was meeting with his sister.

He'd phoned her earlier to ask whether she wanted to meet him. It'd been over a month since he'd last seen her and he knew that they needed to talk.

She'd be worried about him but she wouldn't want to call in case he didn't want to talk. That was just the way Emily was.

So, to try and stop Emily from worrying so much he grabbed a pair of jeans and a jumper and put them on. He even brushed his hair and sprayed some aftershave on himself.

However, just as he was about to walk out of the door to meet Emily the phone rang. He paused, already halfway out of the doorway, with half a mind to ignore it. Then he realised that it might be Emily so he closed his front door behind him and grabbed the phone off of its handset.

"Hello?" he asked.

Emily's voice came through the speaker in the phone. "Hey Stu."

Her voice was shaky and she sounded scared so he asked her whether she was okay.

"Well, I guess so," came the reply, sounding even more scared then before.

"Emily, what's wrong?"

"I can't really-" She paused in reply and in the background he could hear another voice. "I'm so sorry for this Stu, I really am," she continued after a while.  
"Sorry for what? Emily, just tell me what's wrong!"

Another voice came through the speakers and Stu fell to the ground in shock. "Hello Stu. Long time no speak." He knew that voice. He knew that fucking voice.

"No," he muttered, over and over, until eventually he was screaming it down the phone.

The man on the phone started laughing. "Calm down Stu. No need to get hysterical."

"Emily, are you still there?" Stu asked once he could speak again.

"I'm still here Stu," she replied and from her voice he knew that she was crying.  
"Is he with you? Where are you?"

"He's not with me. He just called a phone booth and I picked up the phone."

"Oh but I can see her Stu," the man on the phone said, laughing slightly. "It's hard to imagine she's related to you. I mean she's beautiful, honest, smart, the complete opposite of you."

"Fuck off!" Stu shouted down the phone.  
"Now, now Stu. That language is uncalled for. Especially when in the presence of a young lady."

Stu sighed. "What do you want?"

"You know that's the same question Emily asked me when I first spoke to her. What is it with you two?"

"Maybe it's just that we want to know what the hell you want," Emily interrupted. "You know, the clue's in the question."

The man laughed. "Okay then. Do you really want to know what I want?"

"Yes," Stu and Emily said together.

"I want to meet up with you, both of you, but especially you Stu."

Stu sucked in a breath. "Why do you want to meet me? I've changed. You must know that."

"Oh, I know you've changed Stu, but as I've said earlier to your sister I don't like it. You're wasting your life away. I gave you the opportunity to make it up with Kelly and you ruined it. After everything that I did for you."

"It wasn't my fault," Stu insisted.

"You see this is why I want to meet with you Stu. I think you need to learn that it was your fault. All of this is your fault, such as the situation with your sister, the fact that your life is in such a state, everything Stu."

Stu clutched his head in his hands. "Okay," he murmured. "It's all my fault. I can see it now. Just leave Emily out of this."

"Do you really expect me to believe that?" the man sighed. "We still need to meet Stu but I'm not sure whether you will agree to meet with me. Therefore it's your fault that I have to do this."

"Do what?" Stu asked, worry tinting his voice.

"I'll call you back in a few minutes Stu, seeing as I'm not sure whether Emily will be able to hold her mobile up against the phone for much longer."

"What do you-?" Emily started only for her voice to be drowned out by a loud bang, a shattering of glass and a scream. The scream came from Emily herself.

"What the fuck have you done?" Stu shouted down the phone. There was no answer and Stu's chest started to become tight with panic. "Emily? Are you there?" After a few minutes of no reply Stu was really starting to panic. Desperately he reached over and grabbed the small bottle of pills that he always kept handy. Not bothering to get up and get water, he poured out a handful of pills and swallowed them whole.

A beep from the phone, still pressed up against his ear, indicated that he had another call coming through.

As quickly as he could he pressed the call button, allowing the call to come through.

"Hello?" he asked.

"Hello Stu," came the reply from the man whom he'd been on the phone to earlier.  
"What have you don't to Emily?" he asked angrily.

"Don't worry Stu. She's not hurt. Merely unconscious."

"What was that bang then?"

"I shot her," the man said, amusement strong in his voice. Stu expected him to start laughing at any moment.

Stu's breath hitched up a notch. "You shot her? Is she hurt?"

The man burst into laughter at this. "I shot her sure, but I didn't shoot her with a gun you imbecile. Do you think that if I shot her with a gun she'd be simply unconscious? I shot her with a small drug that should knock her out for a couple of hours. Long enough for you to come and find her."

"I fucking hate you," Stu whispered angrily into the phone.

"Come on Stu, don't be petty. Do you think I really care?"

"Of course not. You're a cold hearted bastard."

"Ouch Stu. That hurt," he mocked.

"Where is she? What have you done with Emily?"

"She's still in the phone booth. However I'll be moving her to my hotel room soon. But don't worry. I'll look after her until you get there."

"Well where is it?"

"Stu, don't rush me. I'll call you later on with the address. After all, I don't want you to get there before me."

Stu had reached his limit. He was scared and feared for his little sister. That's why he did something that he never thought he'd have to do again to this man. He begged. "Look, don't hurt her please. I'll do anything you want."

"I'm not going to hurt her unless you do what I say. You just have to be patient. I'll call you in an hour or so to give you the address and then you can check that your darling sister is okay."

Stu squeezed his eyes closed and sighed deeply. "Okay," he said eventually.

"Good man. Oh and Stu, don't call anyone else because I will know about it. Just sit there and wait patiently. I'll call you later."

A repetitive beeping noise sounded down the phone, telling Stu that the caller had disconnected.

Stu threw the phone to the floor but it was attached to the wall by a metal cord so it only hung in the air. He was unbelievably angry as well as worried for his sister. That man had ruined his life two years ago and here he was, ruining his life once again.

And there was nothing he could do.

So he sat there on his dirty beige carpet and prayed for a miracle like the pathetic man he was.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Emily

All Emily could feel was pain when she woke up. What the hell had happened to her?

The last thing she remembered was the sound of glass smashing and then something small and painful hitting her in the back. Then she woke up in this dark room.

The room that she was in was so dark that she couldn't even tell where she was. All she knew was that she was sitting on a chair and her hands were tied behind her back with something rough.

She wasn't sure exactly how long she'd been unconscious for but judging by the darkened state of the room she'd say it at must have been at least two hours.

"Hello?" she called out cautiously.

Their came no reply but Emily knew that it didn't mean she was alone. Maybe they were just ignoring her.

Emily had an instinctive feeling that the man on the phone was the one who'd tied her up in this room. This scared her, she wasn't afraid to admit it. This man had almost killed her brother and she knew that he'd admitted to killing several people before. However she was confused about his intentions. Before he'd killed the other men because they had done bad things. Emily hadn't done anything bad, so why had he tied her up.

Now that Emily thought about it, Stu hadn't done anything bad either. He was a changed man but this man didn't seem to understand this.

From somewhere outside of the room she heard a loud bang, indicating that someone else was nearby.

"Hello?" she called out, wanting to have some confirmation on who had taken her and tied her up.

The banging noise stopped and she heard footsteps coming towards the room. With a loud bang the door was thrown open, revealing a tall figure.

Emily couldn't tell who it was because there was no light in the room or outside of the room However she could tell from the shadowy form that the person was a man.

"W-who are you?" Emily stuttered at the man.

He didn't reply, nor did he move, instead standing in the doorway. Emily couldn't tell if he was looking at her or not because she couldn't see his eyes, which freaked her out slightly.

"Please," she whispered. "What do you want?"

When he finally answered her Emily wasn't as surprised as she thought she would be. It was the man who she had been talking on the phone to a few hours ago. "It's always the same questions Emily."

She sobbed, tears streaming down her face, as his voice sent shivers of fear down her spine. "Oh god. Why can't you just leave me alone?"

"What would be the fun in that?" he replied, taking a step towards her.

"I don't understand any of this."

"Once again. If I told you what this was all about, then where would the fun be?"

While he had been talking he'd walked even closer, until he was standing directly in front of him.

It was so dark that still couldn't see his face. The only thing that she could see was that he was wearing glasses. This was only because the little light that was in the room was reflecting off the lenses.

His head was turned towards her so she assumed that he was looking at her. After a while he spoke again. "I have to call someone. I'll be back soon." With that he walked back out of the room and left her alone in the dark.

Because he had left the door open she could hear his footsteps as he walked away from the room that she was in.

She sniffed slightly and blinked a few times to try and stop the tears that were streaming down her face.

After a while she became uncomfortable sitting there with her hands tied behind her back. Her arms were starting to ache and the wooden chair wasn't particularly comfortable to sit on for a long period of time.

Irritated she started to try and move her arms but the rope dug into her wrists making her hiss in pain.

"Fuck," she hissed out loud.

"I hate it when people swear."

Emily jumped slightly as she saw the man was back from wherever he had gone. How strange that she hadn't heard him.

He walked towards her and she flinched backwards as he knelt down in front of her.

"Do you want me to tell you who I was on the phone too?" he asked.

She nodded.

"I was on the phone to Stu."

"Why?"

"Well, seeing as Stu and I haven't seen each other for two years now, I thought it would be good if we met up again. You know, for old time's sake. So, I called him up and asked him to come over."

Emily didn't know how to reply. In a way she was glad that Stu was coming over. She was scared of this man. However she didn't want him to get hurt. For the past two years he'd struggled to get over what had happened on that day. After Kelly had left him he became even worse. She loved her brother and couldn't stand to see him go back to how he was before.

Before she had a chance to talk again a loud banging echoed throughout the room.

The man smirked. "Aha. Looks like your brother's here."

Emily watched, confused, as the man walked back out of the room. How had Stu managed to get here so quickly?

From down the corridor she could faintly hear Stu's angry voice, followed by the calmer voice of the man.

"Where is she?" Stu was shouting.

"She's in that room on the left," the man replied.

Within a minute or so Stu came into the room and ran over to her.

"Emily is that you? Are you okay? Has he hurt you?" he asked quickly, kneeling down in front of her.

"No," Emily said softly, tears streaming down her face once again. "I'm fine Stu, really."

"No," he hissed angrily. "You're not fine. He fucking tied you up."

The man's voice came from the doorway. "Stop being so melodramatic Stu."

Stu turned angrily. "Untie her," he demanded. "And turn on some lights. Why the hell is it so dark in here?"

"I thought it made it more dramatic," he replied, laughing. "Like in the movies when the killer kidnaps someone. He wouldn't turn on the light because his victim becomes more scared not knowing what the person looks like. But then again I'm not going to kill you. Well, not if I don't have to. So-" he stopped talking and Emily heard a click.

She had to close her eyes as suddenly the lights were turned on and bright, yellow light filled the room.

When she opened them again she got her first look at the man who had tied her up and talked to her on the phone.

He had brown hair which was slicked back with some kind of gel and it looked like he hadn't shaved in a while due to the stubble that covered his chin. Underneath his thick black glasses she could see that he had brown eyes. He was wearing a pair of black trousers, a light blue shirt and a long beige coat.

His appearance shocked Emily slightly. She'd expected him to be wearing a suit or something to make him look smart.

He looked over at her and saw the way in which she was staring at him.

She blushed as he smirked at her and she looked around the room instead.

It looked like she was in a house of some sort, inside a room. However it was empty apart from several objects.

In the corner of the room, in front of the window, there was a sniper rifle on a stand. She assumed that this is what the man had been looking at her from.

Emily suddenly remembered that Stu was in the room with her.

Stu was staring up at the man with a strange expression on his face. She couldn't tell whether it was anger or pure shock. To her it looked like a mix between the two.

"Well, you two seem...shocked to see me," the man said, a smirk still on his face. "Now, how about I tell you what's going to happen. I think you're going to like it."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Stu

Stu stared in shock at the man before him.

He'd only seen this man once and that had been when he was drugged up, meaning that he'd never properly seen his face. He took in the man, noting his thick glasses and the long, tan coat that he wore. It was strange how he was wearing the same outfit that he'd been wearing when Stu had first met him.

The smirk that the man wore on his face was extremely irritating but Stu didn't voice his opinion out loud. He didn't want to provoke him.

"Well, you two seem...shocked to see me," the man said, still smirking. "Now, how about I tell you what's going to happen."

"Yes," Stu said, standing up. "That would be good."

"Well, seems like you've got some of your confidence back Stu."

From the corner of his eye Stu could see Emily looking worriedly up at him. He ignored her and concentrated on the man in front of him.  
"Have you missed me?" the man asked before Stu had a chance to say anything.

"Of course not," he hissed angrily.

It was obvious by the man's expression that he did not believe him. "Right," he said, giving one last look to Stu, before turning his attention to Emily. "Do you want to know who I am?" he asked her.

She nodded and the man smiled. Stu wanted to punch him right then.

"My name's Keifer."  
"Is that really your name?" Stu interrupted.

Keifer's eyes went to Stu. "Stu isn't really your name. It's Stuart right?"

Stu scoffed. "Whatever."

Keifer smirked. "Now," he continued. "As I was saying before, you want to know what's going on here don't you." He didn't wait for them to say anything before carrying on. He was looking and directing his words at Stu as he spoke. "So, I'll explain. I want to know if you've really changed Stu. After all, it's been two years. You could have gone back to your old ways."

Stu shook his head. "No. I haven't."

"Oh, but you could just be lying, couldn't you? You're a good liar aren't you Stu. I just find it so hard to believe you."

Stu knew that he was being mocked but he ignored it. "Okay, how can I prove it?"

The smile that Stu was given by Keifer sent chills down his spine. "I was hoping that you'd ask that."

Both him and Emily watched as Keifer walked over to a small cupboard in the corner of the room and opened it.

He heard Emily gasp from beside him as a man was dragged out of the cupboard and thrown to the floor.

The man was wearing a suit that had obviously once been in pristine condition. It looked very expensive. However, now it was ripped and dirty.

The man's hands were tied behind his back, just like Emilys.

"Please," the man begged, grabbing onto Keifer's trouser leg. "I'll change I swear."

Keifer just laughed before kicking the man in the face, causing him to topple backwards. "You see, I don't think you will." His attention shifted back to Emily and Stu. "This man here's called Derek. He's my new friend. The best thing is that he's just like you used to be Stu. He's selfish, a liar and he uses people."

Stu really didn't want to know but he had to ask. "Why do you have him here?"

"You're asking all of the right questions today Stu. Well done." Keifer grabbed the man by his hair and dragged him over so that he was on the floor next to Emily. He then reached into his pocket and took out a pistol.

Stu flinched as Keifer walked towards him with the gun in his hands. However instead of shooting at him he threw the gun at Stu's feet.

"What do you want me to do with this?" Stu asked. A strange feeling was spreading through him as he looked down at the gun. However he couldn't quite place what the emotion was.

"I want you to shoot someone," Keifer replied simply.

"What the-? Who do you want me to shoot exactly?" Stu could see Emily looking up at him with tear filled eyes but he was scared to look at her in case she managed to place the feeling that he was experiencing.

"I'm a nice man Stu, so you know what? I'm going to give you a choice." He looked between Emily and Derek, a smile on his face. "Emily or Derek. It's your choice. Kill one and the other lives."

"N-no," Stu muttered, shaking his head back and forth. "I wouldn't. I-I couldn't."

"Stu, of course you could. I know what you're like. When we were on the phone together, two years ago, I remember you saying how you'd happily shoot me with a big smile on your face."

"That was two years ago. I've changed now. How many times do I have to tell you?"

"Prove it then. Prove to me that you're a changed man. Pick up the gun from the floor, go on."

Stu did what he said and leant down to pick up the gun.

It felt surprisingly heavy in his hands. He'd expected it to be lighter.

"Now," Keifer said, taking a step away from Stu and closer to Emily and Derek. He was now standing to the left of Emily, whilst Derek was on the right of Emily. "Who are you going to shoot?"

"No one. I'm not going to shoot either of them. Why the hell would I?"

"If you shoot one of them then I'll believe that you've changed and I'll let you, and whoever's still alive, leave."

Stu was confused. "That doesn't make sense. If I killed someone, why would you know that I've changed?"

Keifer sighed. "Just get on with it Stu. We don't have all day."

"No, I'm not going to kill anyone. Not some random guy who you've picked from the street and definitely not my own sister!"

A sudden change came over Keifer and he walked over to stand above Derek's snivelling form. "You think that Derek here," he gave him a kick, almost as if to emphasise his point, "is just some random guy that I picked up off the street. Oh, no. What would be in that? Didn't I tell you? He's selfish, a liar and he uses people. Do you want to know what he did that made me want him?" Stu didn't answer him but of course he still continued. "He's what's called a porn king. He thinks that he's got a great website going. At least that's what he tells everyone on the phone. I clicked on it and you don't want to know what I found. Turns out that he's not an artist as he continues to say that he is. He's nothing but a dirty paedophile. He snatches girls off the street and says that he's going to kill them unless they take their clothes off and lets him take pictures." He turned to look briefly at Emily before turning and looking meaningfully at Stu. "Most of them are no older then seventeen. The same age as Emily."

As Stu looked down at the man on the floor he saw him in a completely different light. The suit that before had looked expensive despite the rips in it, now just looked dirty. That suit had been bought with dirty money.

"Don't you see Stu? He deserves to die. Kill him Stu, go on. If you kill him then both you and Emily can go home. It will be as if nothing ever happened."

In that brief moment Stu actually contemplated killing the man. It was no different from what Keifer had previously done. Maybe there was something right in it. If Derek was off the streets then surely it would be better. However all these thoughts were gone when Emily spoke up.

"You don't have to do this Stu. You're better then him."

He looked down at Emily and saw the pure confidence and love that she felt for him.

"Yes," he said, agreeing with what she said. "I don't have to do this," and with that he threw the gun to the floor.

Keifer sighed and walked over to the window. Stu saw what he was going to do before he did it but he didn't have the strength in him to move and stop him.

Keifer picked up the sniper rifle from the stand and aimed it at Emily. "Kill Derek or I'll have no choice but to kill Emily."

Emily started crying as she stared up at the gun aimed at her.

"No!" Stu shouted, taking a step forwards. He couldn't stand to see his sister cry and he definitely didn't want her to get hurt.

"Stay where you are Stu. You don't want to risk your little sister getting hurt now, do you?" Keifer moved a step closer to Emily, as if to prove his point.

"Don't hurt her, please. Just let her go. She's nothing to do with this."

"No Stu. Don't you see? She's everything to do with this. I want to know how much you've changed. Before you didn't care about anybody. Now, let's see if you care about your sister enough to kill a man. I personally think that it shouldn't be too hard for you. I can see that killing streak in you."

"I don't have a killing streak and I don't want to kill anyone."

"Oh, but you don't have a choice. So Stu, who's it going to be? Emily, your sister, who's never done anything wrong or Derek, a paedophile. Take your pick."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Emily

Emily was terrified not only for herself but for her brother as well.

Keifer was asking her brother to kill a man and if he didn't then she would be shot. Of course she didn't want to die, but then again she didn't want Stu to kill a man. Sure, the man had done some awful things but that didn't mean he deserved to die. Another reason that she didn't want Stu to shoot Derek was because she knew that it would tear him up inside. He wouldn't be able to cope with the fact that he'd killed a man. That is if Keifer ever let her and Stu go.

For a moment Emily had thought that she'd managed to stop Stu from killing Derek but then Keifer had spoke up. Now that Emily had actually spoken and met the man she could see why Stu became so messed up after the whole Phonebooth situation. Keifer fucked with your mind, making you act in ways that you don't want to.

He was speaking right now, giving Stu a final ultimatum. "So Stu, who's it going to be? Emily, your sister, who's never done anything wrong or Derek, a paedophile. Take your pick."

Stu looked so confused that Emily's heart went out for him. She hated Keifer right then.

Then she saw Stu looking down at the gun and she saw a flash of excitement run through his eyes. Now **she** was confused. Why was he excited? He was going to be forced to kill a man.

Then she thought about it. Maybe Stu had missed this. Maybe he'd missed all of this action. 'No.' Mentally she shook her head. How could he have missed the fear? He could have lost his life that day. No one would have missed that.

Emily brought herself back to the situation at hand and noticed that Stu was talking. "You promise that if I kill this man you'll let both Emily and I go?"

Kiefer nodded.

"And you promise that you'll believe that I've changed and that you'll never speak to us again?"

"Of course Stu."

Emily knew that Keifer was lying the moment he spoke. However Stu didn't seem to see this. He was blinded by all of his emotions.

She watched, shocked, as Stu held up the gun and pointed it at Derek.

"Come on Stu," Keifer muttered, still smiling. "Do it!"

"No," Emily said to Stu. "Don't do it."  
"Shut up," Keifer hissed at her from across the room.

"No!" she repeated, shouting it this time. She was talking to Stu now. "You can't just kill someone, even if they have done things wrong. Then you'd just be like him." She gave a quick glance to Keifer before looking back at Stu. He didn't look as certain anymore but he was still holding the gun. "Just put down the gun. Please."

Derek, on the floor, was nodding his head, agreeing with what Emily was saying.

"But he'll kill you. I can't let him do that," Stu said, ignoring Derek.

Emily had forgotten about what Keifer had said. Stu had to kill the man or Keifer would kill her. However looking at Keifer she wondered if he would kill her. He didn't seem like the kind of man who would kill someone for no reason. Sure, he'd threatened Stu several times by saying that he'd kill people. For example he said that he'd kill Pam and Kelly. However he never went through with it. It was all just a case of whether she truly believed that he wouldn't kill her.

For now however she didn't voice her thoughts. She trusted that Stu would do the right thing.

Stu

Stu was in an incredibly difficult situation.

He had two choices. One seemed to be too ridiculous to think of, whilst the other seemed to be the more obvious choice to choose. Keifer wanted him to kill Derek. There was no way that he was going to let Keifer kill Emily so he had no choice. That, at least, was his first thought.

Then he started to notice the way that Emily was looking at Keifer and he could tell that she didn't believe what he was saying. The way her eyebrows were slightly raised and the frown on her face were too familiar for Stu not to see what she was thinking.

Why would Emily not believe Keifer's threats? Did she not remember how he had almost been killed by this man?

Keifer must have started to become impatient because he shouted out, interrupting Stu's train of thought. "That's it Stu. You have thirty seconds to kill Derek or its goodbye Emily." He raised the gun higher and pointed it at Emily's head to prove his point. "30 – 29 – 28- 27-"

"Stop it!" Stu screamed, clutching his head in his hands. The gun felt good pressing against the side of his head. That was when he realised what he had to do. How could he not have thought of it before? It was all so simple. "I know what to do," he muttered, looking at Emily.

She must've seen something in his eyes that she didn't like because she told him not to do anything stupid.

He ignored what she said because he knew that what he was about to do wasn't stupid. All of his problems would be sorted.

Slowly he raised the gun in the air. However, instead of pointing it at Derek, Emily or even Keifer, he pointed it at himself.

"What are you doing?" Emily shouted out at him, struggling against the rope that tied her to the chair. "Don't you dare Stu!"

"It makes sense Emily," he told her, trying not to show any emotion. He wanted this to be as painless as possible for her.

Whilst they'd been talking Keifer had still been counting. "10-9-8-7-"

Stu didn't look at him, not wanting his smug face to be the last thing he saw.

"3-2-1-"

With one last breath he closed his eyes and pulled the trigger...


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Thank you so much for the reviews for this story.**

**I'm so sorry about the long time some of you have had to wait for this chapter. I haven't posted anything on fanfiction for about six months now and I'd lost this chapter so I had to write it again.**

**But here it is, finally.**

**Also, just to let you know that I've changed some minor grammar etc in some chapters, so it's up to you if you want to go back through and read previous chapters.**

Chapter 6

Stu

_Stu didn't look at him, not wanting his smug face to be the last thing he saw._

"_3-2-1-" _

_With one last breath he closed his eyes and pulled the trigger..._

... only for nothing to happen.

He opened his eyes and looked at the gun, before opening it up. There were no bullets loaded.

Keifer started laughing and Stu looked angrily over at him. "What the fuck?" Stu asked him, throwing the gun to the floor.

"You really think I'd give you a loaded gun Stu? Do I look stupid?"

Stu was too consumed with anger to answer him. Instead he looked over at Emily and saw that she was taking deep breaths. A look of relief was on her face.

"What are you going to do now then?" Stu asked Keifer, clenching his hands into fists.

"You didn't kill Derek, so I have no choice but to kill Emily."

"What?" he asked angrily. "How could I have killed him when the gun wasn't even loaded?"

"Oh but you had the opportunity to kill him and you didn't. You were going to kill yourself. I never said you could do that. Therefore Emily has to die." With that Keifer held up the rifle and pointed it at Emily before pulling the trigger.

Stu shouted out and ran forwards but it was too late. A loud bang echoed throughout the room and Emily slumped forwards in her chair as the bullet came into contact with her side.

Stu was crying as he ran forwards and held Emily in his arms. "No!" he shouted, shaking her gently. He was so lost in his emotions that he didn't notice Keifer was laughing until he'd been clinging onto Emily for a few minutes.

"You bastard!" he screamed at Keifer. He let go of Emily and ran over to Keifer, punching him in the face.

Keifer simply laughed and moved away from him. "She's not dead Stu."

Stu just stood there, breathing hard. He didn't believe him. He said as much.

"Go Stu. Look at her. Where's the blood?"

Stu didn't believe Keifer but he had to check anyway.

Almost as if in a dream he walked over to Emily. When he touched her he gasped as he realised that she wasn't cold. Her body was warm, meaning that she couldn't be dead. "You shot her? Why is she not dead?" he asked.

"Look at her side."

Stu gently lifted up Emily's shirt and saw that there wasn't a bullet lodged in her side but a small needle. Obviously Keifer had shot her with some kind of sedative.

As he realised this Stu collapsed to his knees in relief and started sobbing. He'd been so worried that Emily had been dead.

Footsteps came towards him but he was too wrapped up in his emotions. A hand came down on his shoulder and he looked up to see Keifer standing above him. "You've done well. I'm proud." Suddenly he grabbed him and shoved him up against the wall. "But what you've got to understand Stu, is that you only have one life. And you are wasting it." The anger was clear on Keifers face. "I've been like you before. Weak. Hopeless. Feeling like you have nothing to live for. But you've got your whole life ahead of you. Don't waste it." He let go of Stu and walked over to stand next to Derek.

"You didn't have to do all of this to get your point across," Stu muttered cautiously.

"I'm not so sure. You can move on with your life now without worrying about me. I'll leave you and Emily alone and let you live your lives." He pointed to the door. "You're free to go."

Stu looked over at Derek, who was kneeling on the floor. "What's going to happen to him?"

Keifer smirked. "Don't worry about him. He'll get his comeuppance."

He didn't question him any further, not wanting to know the details.

He watched warily as Keifer walked over to Emily before taking a knife out of his pocket. Just as Stu was about to tell him to leave her alone, he cut the rope that was tying her to the chair. "Take Emily and get out of here."

Stu didn't need to be told twice. Shakily he got to his feet and took Emily in his arms. He was glad that she wasn't too heavy because otherwise he probably would have dropped her. Most of his strength seemed to have gone.

He looked back one last time, taking in Keifer's and Derek's faces before walking out of the room and down the corridor. Within a few minutes he managed to locate a door that led outside and he opened it up.

He blinked as he came out into bright sunlight. It was good to know that he knew where he was. It wouldn't take long to get back home.

Looking down at Emily he gave a small smile to her unconscious form before walking off in the direction of home. He was ready for his new life.

After Stu and Emily had left Keifer picked up the rifle and shot Derek in the head. He didn't have the time to torture him as much as he wanted. After Derek was dead he sat on the floor of his room and clutched his head in his hands. No matter how calm and collected he felt, killing someone always exhausted him mentally. He knew they deserved it. They all did. If he had the time and the patience he'd kill every piece of scum on this earth. But he didn't.

So instead he had to settle for the few people he could find. And even as he grew older and weaker he knew that he would never stop killing those who deserved it. Because he had a duty.

He'd let Stu go because he'd changed. He was the only man Keifer would find who had potential for change. He would go on to kill over thirty people and yet Stu was the only one who had managed to stop himself being killed. And it wasn't because he was clever. It was because he was lucky.

Because Keifer would never stop. Those who raped. Those who murdered. Those who lied. Those who cheated. Those who didn't deserve life. Those who didn't appreciate it.

He was coming for them.

He was coming for all of them.

And they were going to die.

And Keifer couldn't help but laugh at that thought.

**A/N: What did you think about the end?**

**I've also started writing a fanfiction about 'Keifer' and his background because I feel like we don't get told anything about his previous life or why he is who he is. And I think it would be interesting. So tell me whether you'd be interested in reading this in your review :)**

**Thanks once again for being so patient and I apologise.**


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